The result of a hypothesis is described in terms of the probability of obtaining a particular sample. Use the given context to formulate the null and alternative hypotheses. Discuss whether the sample provides evidence for rejecting the null hypothesis.The mean resting heart rate for students at Northridge College is 72 beats per minute. An exercise physiologist believes that for athletes, the mean resting heart rate will be lower. She finds that for a random sample of 55 athletes at the college, the mean resting heart rate is 71 beats per minute. Assuming that the mean resting heart rate for all athletes at the college is 72 beats per minute, the probability of selecting a random sample with a mean of 71 or less beats per minute is 0.14.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Null hypothesis: mean resting heart rate for college athletes = 72 beats per minute
Alternative hypothesis: mean resting heart rate for college athletes < 72 beats per minute
The result is not significant at the 0.05 level and there are no grounds for rejecting the null hypothesis. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the mean resting heart rate for college athletes is less than 72 beats per minute.